Had enough of Naza, going APM

[MrBen]

Hey BM Im looking at the latest v2.8 and I have found

http://www.thanksbuyer.com/apm2-8-ardupilot-apm-flight-controller-ublox-7n-gps-3dr-telemetry-xt60-power-module-for-fpv-multicopter-36809

and

http://www.banggood.com/APM-Flight-Controller-Set-APM-2_8-6MH-GPS-OSD-Radio-Telemetry-etc-p-960341.html

I dont need the telemetry setup but it seems to be included in most kits, the banggood one has an option of 6M and 6H GPS modules where as the thanksbuyer comes with the 7n GPS, also the thanksbuyer one has the current sensor already made up.

What do you think?

[xxpitt]

the bang good one is £90 the other is $90 i know what i'd get. don't know which is best though

[bigMouse]

Yes they look ok, the bg one looks better for price! glb also sell with free shipping
All the later apm's I purchased was from glb (including the pixhawks)

Must have used the entire range of ulblox gps, currently using the Ublox NEO-7N and its as good as any other (including the expensive LEA-6 GPS)

My advice would normally be "get a pixhawk" like this one for instance:
http://www.goodluckbuy.com/px4-pixhawk-v2-4-5-32bits-flight-controller-with-ublox-neo-7n-gps-3-axis-compass-combo.html
Why? Because apm won't be supported in code v3.3 and above (although it is still a powerful flight controller) I still run one of my uav's on an old apm2 with unmodified v2.7 fw and would put it against anything out there for reliability

Must admit, the apm is a smaller fc so more suited to smaller quads, so there is still a future in them for a while, but wouldn't splash out too much on one anymore!

Didn't know about the apm2.8 (would have thought they would have finished updating them by now!), the apm2 had onboard GPS, apm2.5 used an off-board gps, and the apm2.6 is exactly the same as the 2.5 but with the on-board compass missing! So the apm2.5 needs a plug-in GPS board, and the 2.6 needs a plug-in gps and compass (now usually included on the gps board, but not always)

I set up an apm2.6 recently for someone and installed fw3.2, and for some weird reason, experienced all sorts of seemingly random motor/esc/arming problems, then I installed 3.15 and everything behaved perfectly! Never really dug into this as there is not much difference between the two fw's

Telemetery, I'd steer clear of 900mHz in the uk! 433 modules are good, but forces you to use 2.4g for control. There was issues with the ground module, the usb connection caused interference! I still use the old modules through a usb/ftdi adaptor. (I expect the newer version2 modules might have overcome these problems(but you would need to check))

Generally speaking, apm style Telem don't readily mix with fpv, (just too many wires and a laptop as part of the ground equipment) although you can use android now (if your eyes are good enough to read the info!) The data steam which is recorded on the ground is impressive, much more than is recorded to the on-board memory card.

The apm power module is good, as it enables monitoring of real time v and amps. You can also attach other 5v power supply back-ups to the apm(from spare becs for example) If you fit servos then must be careful as the apm PM only supply's enough power for the apm/Rx/gps/ and telem modules.

[bigMouse]

The power module:
http://www.goodluckbuy.com/apm2-5-2-apm2-6-pixhawk-power-module-v1-0-output-bec-3a-xt60-plug.html

[MrBen]

thanks for the info BM I have ordered the pixhawk from GLB now  via DHL shipping so fingers crossed I get it before next weekend.

[bigMouse]

A wise choice I think! I must have about 6 apm's here, but would still fit a pixHawk!

FW version 2.8 and later used different code which has better control but more susceptible to frame vibs! There is a self test for vibes so so an easy matter to check how good (or bad) your flexible mount is! Mine is within limits but could be better (Actually could be cheap motors/props responsible), You can DL the stl file or you can have mine! If your stuck for the rubber mounts I'll send a set.

[loganj13]

Let me know how APM goes! Someone recently gave me an APM 2.5, and Im curious how they perform!
Also: I'd confirm that 2.8 is best, last Id heard 2.6 was the latest official version which would mean anything after it would be mods be other companies which may not be as reliable or compatible with the same stuff...I'm not certain on this, but had read that online a few times.

[bigMouse]

Also: I'd confirm that 2.8 is best, last Id heard 2.6 was the latest official version which would mean anything after it would be mods be other companies which may not be as reliable or compatible with the same stuff...I'm not certain on this, but had read that online a few times.

Yes the official 2.6 was the latest as far as I know!

regards what you read, that is largely rumour mongering by the cheque book brigade, trying to justify their expenditure as buying reliable stuff only if you buy from 3DR! The pcbs, component listing, wiring diagrams, and fw are all open source, there is nothing hidden! Far eastern apm's etc are not copies or clones, they are the genuine open source product!

Over the years I must have bought about 20 apms, 3 pixHawks, 3 sonars, 6 Telem boards, 5 minim osd's, 2 xBEE's. This was a mix of genuine 3DR and far eastern boards, in fact I probably bought one of the first ever, far eastern apm's about 5 years ago! From all Of that, two apm's and one telem board packed up after using for a short while, the telem board was DOA, These 3 boards happened to be all genuine 3DR Bought by me with receipts (not s/h) 3DR was full of shit, their after-sales-service was (and probably still is) deliberately non-cooperative! Since experiencing their absolutely useless, abrasive, customer relations (Which would make hk customer support look angelic) I have never bought any genuine 3DR article since, and never will again out of principle!


Anyway, the various tiny tweaks did go on between board versions but wasn't vital to the operation of the apm, probably the only hiccup was some of the earlier far eastern boards had the Atmega32U2 PPM encoder flashed with the old code (which only affected people who were (like me) using futaba radios. New code can be flashed in seconds with no special tools, using usb in DFU mode (D)evice (F)irmware (U)pgrade)

Your apm2.5 will be fine, all you need is a half decent GPS. I'd recommend v3.15 fw, by all means try the current latest 3.2  but it seems to be a bit particular about what esc/motor combination your using!

[bigMouse]

Ben, Just a thought! The pixHawk rx input is CPPM only so you will need a cppm capable rx or a converter!

[MrBen]

100% cppm capable rx here both uhf and 2.4 frsky

[MrBen]

Paid for 3-5 day shipping by DHL I think, only despatched today 6 days after payment has been made with an estimated delivery date 25th March! What a scam.

[bigMouse]

I always, always use free shipping option wherever I can, usually takes between 9 and 15 days!

btw, Think Chinese new year has already started!

[Tecnic]

Paid for 3-5 day shipping by DHL I think, only despatched today 6 days after payment has been made with an estimated delivery date 25th March! What a scam.

Yes, as bm say's never use priority shipping, it's just a frustrating waste of money, GLB and many other take 5-7 days before they even book the shipping, that doesn't mean DHL have collected it yet, that can take another few days

I have an outstanding order with GLB for about $500 worth of stuff, got the dispatch email but when I checked at their website it stated "partial shipped", rather frustrating as the items are dependant on eachother in the order, I asked them to cancel the order, retreive their parcel and refund my money but they wouldn't, they just kept stating "it's been shipped", yet you could clearly see that it had not yet been collected from their shipping agent by anyone, the shipment had simply been booked

I will have to contact Paypal today to see what I can do
If I refuse the parcel this end Paypal will no doubt say that was my fault, if I accept it then the goods are no use to me and I'll have no choice but to wait for the missing items (if they ever get shipped), claiming for missing items is no good and for a full claim I will be out of pocket in sending the delivered goods back and that will also rely on GLB aknowldeging receipt
During all this time of course GLB will be sitting on my money, damned hassle sometimes ain't it

[Tecnic]

PS Ben
I think you'll love the APM's, they've come such a long way since a couple of years back, with autotune too
They are far more "locked in", have stacks of features, you'll be playing with "Dronie" , "FollowMe" and waypoints just to see what you can do

Dronie is like a Selfie but with a drone
You set it down facing you about 8m away, flick into "Dronie" uising your android/telemetry and it flies up and away backwards to a distance of 50m keeping you in shot then flies back and lands, it gives a scenic overview of where you are, maybe on top of a windmill, or a mountain ridge or in a kayak, whatever